Burial-casket



UNITED f ASTATES- fA-OFFICE.

JAMES WALKER, or. cHIoAGo,-In-Lrno1s ABURIAL-LASK 5T..

SPECIFICATION forming part of lLetters. Patent Nvo. 381,194, dated April-17, 1888-, r .y

1'0 all whom, it may concern/.1V

Beit known that I, JAMES WALKER, a citi4-` zen of the United States, Vresiding at'Chicago,

in the county of Cook and State of Illinois,

have invented a new and useful Fastening for MetallicBurial-Caskets, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in fastenings for metallic burial-caskets; and it consis'tsof a small and thin metal plate having a wedgeshaped projection on one of its faces, a thumb-'piecerisingfrom the same face, and

" two slots extending partly through it, it being designed to be secured to the lid of a burial'- casket, so that its wedge-sh apd proj ectiony can be forced under a lip on the side of the casket simply by pressing with4` the thumb, and the lid be thus securely fastened upon the main part of the casket. I attain this result by the device illustrated in the accompanying drawings,in which- Figure lis a plan view of a burial-casket, showing my improved fastener.' Fig. 2 is al detail cross-section of the same, taken on the line l l in Fig.f1. Fig. 3 is a detail plan section taken on the line 2 2 inFig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective sectional view of the upper part of the'casket 'with the lid of the same removed. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of one of my improved fasteners detached.

Similar letters refer to similar parts th roughout the several views.

In the figures, A represents the mainpart or body of the casket; B, the lid or' cover of the same; B, a fiange on the outer border of the, lid swaged about the blockA of wood, b2, and designed to. rest upon the ledge A2, extending around the innerside of thebody of the caskf et; A, a lip Qn the upper, edge of Athe side of the'` casket, extending. inward and downward at an acute angle; A2, a ledge extending at lining of the body of the casket; b', glass in the y Application filed January 25, 1888. Serial No.'2(i1,873. (No model.)

same; c', screws passing through said slots and nd B; o, the plate @tiny improvedjfastener; L C', the wedge-shaped projection on the same; lC2, the `thumb-piece of the same; c, slots in the securin'gthe fastener upon the flange B at the Y edge of the saine.

thin end of the wedge C' at thek outer edge of the flange and the thumbipiece C`z at thenner edge, and thus is secured bythe screws c,`p`ass ing through the slots cinto the flange B. The lid B having been placed in its proper position 1. Y

ure continues against the lip A; the ange B' 70 gasket BZ will be made tot air-tightupon the v -.rim`Aa of the ledgeA?.` i' f will be forced downward, and thus therubber The casket upon which Ipropose to use my y improvedfastener will bek constructed of thin f '75 parts will be made airtight; hence when thelid Y sheet-s of metal, and the joints of vits different My fastener is operated as follows: Itis i 'placed obliquely across the flange B', with the 4 n -c 6o l l is fastened, as above described, the entire cask-` et will be closed air-tighte-an obvious advanj i tage at all times, and especially so when itis necessary to ship a corpse a long distance.

Another advantage'ofmy*proposed casket i is its lightweight in comparison with the'metal caskets now in useas minewill weigh so lit-Y tle that a manof ordinary strength several of them at once., v n I.

Having now fully describedr my invention, what I claim as new, andi desire-to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

v1,. In a metallic burial-casket, the fastener consisting of the metal plate C, having the par- 9 allelslots @running lengthwise, and on one 'of its faces the .Wedgeshaped projectionfC,y its thin end terminating near oneend of said,

plate, and having the thumb-piece C2 rising Y fromfthe saine face at the endopposite tosaid 49K5 Q projection, in combination with the screwsc,

the flange B on the lid B, and the li'pAon .g the body A of saidv casket, when 4rconstructed and operated substantially as and for the pur-x; f

- roo 2. ln a metallic burial-casket,the lip A", ex-

posev specified.

tending inward and downward ata-n acute an'-,I

gle from the upper edge of the sides ofthe body A of said casket, in combination with the wedge-like projection C on the metal plate C, which is secured upon the upper face of the ange B of the lid B of said casket, and withv the ledge A2 on the inner side of the body of said casket, when constructedand operated substantially as and for the purpose stated.

3. The rim A3 on the ledge A2 upon the in- 1o ner side of the body A of a burial-casket, in

combinationA with the rubber gasket B, se'- cured to the bottom of the ange B on the lid of said casket, and with the wedge C' upon the plate C and the lip A on the body A of the casket, when constructed and operated sub- |5 stantially as and for the purpose stated.

JAMES WALKER.

Witnesses:

E. C. CRAWFORD,

J oHN T. DoNAHoE. 

